The UK’s competition watchdog has finally cleared Just Eat’s acquisition of Hungryhouse, following an in-depth phase 2 investigation.
A group of independent panel members has said the merger of both companies does not raise any competition concerns.
Today’s clearance comes after the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) said in its provisional findings that Hungryhouse provided limited competition to Just Eat because it was much smaller in size and served too few restaurants on its platform.
This, the group added, made it increasingly difficult for Hungryhouse to attract and then retrain consumers.
Additionally, the group ascertained that companies such as Deliveroo or UberEats generally presented a greater competitive challenge to Just Eat than Hungryhouse.
The group also took into account the fact that some consumers may order directly from takeaway restaurants, bypassing online services such as Just Eat or Hungryhouse.